“Weathering the Storm” is a continuation of “Splitboarding the Tordrillos: part 1“Feature photo by Zach Clanton. That evening we got a weather report. Partly cloudy – scattered storms. The weather moves in off the Cook, 60 miles away and the closest place that had a forecast. We decided to start building a snow cave to move our camp kitchen into …
Splitboarding the Tordrillos, AK cover photo by Zach Clanton. The jagged granite peaks of the Tordrillo Mountains dwarf any sense of society or security and leave only rawness. A sub-range of the massive Alaska Range, the un-maned wildness is abrupt and relentless. To put the scope of this glaciated frozen place into perspective, the range could cover the entire state …
After nine years and several hundred combined expedition days, V-Team Ambassadors Aaron Diamond and Ty Guarino wanted to put together a body of information that was tailored to anyone looking to go on their first ski expedition; specifically, Alaska-style basecamp expeditions that maximize fun and minimize discomfort. Most of this information is universal for a ski expedition, but a few …
For those of us who spend our lives in the mountains, it’s mandatory to accept that nothing is given. A wide variety of factors can shut down a mission: weather, fitness, conditions, and preparedness all come heavily into play. But when 18 Alaskans set out in late March for the 2019 Alaska Mountain Wilderness Ski Classic, I don’t think it …
I spent the 2017/18 season in Alaska, guiding folks from all over the world across its incredible landscape. One of my best days was ironically the worst day of the season for conditions; with rain crust to treeline, sun crust on solar and wind hammered high alpine. Good to have these reminders that it doesn’t have to be great conditions …
We flew in under a grey-blue ceiling to the most spectacular playground I have ever seen. On the Pika Glacier, rock buttresses rise like sharks’ teeth from the valley, their ridges separated by perfect ribbons of snow that plunge into the glacier below.
Over a three-week period in 2016, Aaron and I attempted a particular summit five different times. All five attempts were thwarted. This year, with a limited amount of free time, Aaron Diamond and I figured that we could reasonably make the peak’s first ski descent… if we were lucky.
